Omakase Cocktail – You pick your poison, but let the bartender mix the drink. Super talented bartenders now custom-create a drink based on your flavor or liquor preferences. You’ll never know what hit you.

Shrub Your Enthusiasm – What was old is new again as do-it-yourself bartenders bring back the old-fashioned house-made fruit flavored vinegar syrups known as shrubs and add them to cocktails.

Examples: Champagne Shrub at The City Tavern (Philadelphia, PA)

Everything is Better with Bacon - In a process called fatwashing, ambitious bartenders and mixologists are infusing liquors with fats and savory flavors. Bacon-infused bourbon, brown butter rum and chorizo-infused tequila… Now we drink the fat, not just chew it.

"De" Still my Heart – Micro-distilleries are the movement of the moment when it comes to artisan spirits proving that the more things change, the stills are not the same. Small-batch distilleries are making it big as bars and restaurants keep it local when they select their whisky, gin, vodka, bourbon and rye. Call it the all new microbrew.

Cherie, Sherry – Sherries and port make a comeback as they take a leading role along with other low-alcohol fortified wines in cocktails. Bartenders love their sipping potential, enhanced food friendliness and aromatic properties. Guests like being able to order more than one drink.

Get Off the Bottle – As alternative packaging takes off in the wine industry, expect to see more and more restaurants offering wine not by the bottle, but poured from kegs, barrels, taps and even canteens.

SOURS Patch Kids – And not just the Pisco variety, but rum and tequila too - photo courtesy of FIVE (Berkeley, CA) A Lighter Shade of Whiskey – WHITE WHISKEY or “white dog” are being used in cocktails for their lighter flavorsWe All Scream for EGG CREAMS – It’s the revival of the old classic, a chocolate soda, no cream and no egg

We Hear a RUM-bling Going On – Tiki drinks, rum punch, and riffs on the ever-popular mojito not to mention growing appreciation for aged rums

SANGRIA, I Just Met a Girl Named Sangria – House-made sangrias

Going Coco for COCONUT WATER – Appearing in cocktails and blended juices

Super-Cali-MEZCAL-icious – There is growing appreciation for fine mezcals taken neat

Some Like it Cold – COLD PRESS COFFEE that is

Tom & Harry Make a Comeback – Tom Collins, Harvey Wallbangers and other RETRO MAD-MEN ERA COCKTAILS make a comeback